Author: Eric Slivka

As it routinely does for new devices, IHS iSuppli has taken apart the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in an effort to estimate Apple’s costs for the components included in the new devices, sharing the results with Re/code. According to IHS iSuppli’s teardowns, parts and labor costs for the iPhone 6 are estimated to begin at $200 for the 16 GB iPhone 6 model, giving Apple a roughly 69 percent gross profit margin on the devices.

That number of course does not take into account an array of other costs, from research and development to software to marketing and distribution, but it does offer an interesting glimpse at what goes into an iPhone.

The margins are in line with more recent iPhone models but higher than the earliest ones. The gross margin on the iPhone 5, released in 2012, and the iPhone 5s, released last year, were about 69 percent, teardown studies at the time of their release showed. On the lower-priced iPhone 5c, also released in 2012, the gross margin was closer to 68 percent. By comparison, the gross margin on the very first iPhone, released in 2007, was closer to 55 percent.

Apple does earn slightly higher margins on higher-capacity iPhone 6 models, as the 128 GB of storage is estimated to cost $47 more than the base 16 GB storage while the device retails for $200 more.

The iPhone 6 Plus is also a higher-margin item for Apple, with IHS iSuppli estimating the device costs just $16 more to produce than the corresponding iPhone 6 models, with roughly half of that difference coming from the display and the remainder presumably related to the rear camera module with optical image stabilization, a larger battery, and other minor differences.

Another interesting observation from IHS iSuppli is that Samsung does indeed remain involved in production of the main A-series processor for the iPhone. Early teardowns had shown the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus using A8 chips manufactured by TSMC for the first time, but IHS iSuppli says TSMC is providing 60 percent of A8 chips while Samsung is handling the remaining 40 percent.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple was preparing to seed carrier partners with iOS 8.0.1 even before the media event officially announcing launch dates for iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Details on the update were unknown at the time, b…

Earlier this year, popular Android alternative keyboard maker SwiftKey expanded to iOS with a note-taking app integrating the company’s gesture keyboard. And with Apple opening up iOS to systemwide third-party keyboard as part of iOS 8, SwiftKey is rea…

While shipping vendors have been instructed to hold deliveries of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus until Friday’s official launch date, there is no such restriction on the official Apple cases designed for the new devices. As a result, several MacRumors readers and others who placed orders for cases when iPhone pre-orders went live last Friday have already begun receiving their case orders.

iLounge has shared some good photos of the brown leather iPhone 6 Plus case. The cases are very similar to the leather iPhone 5s cases with a microfiber interior to protect the iPhone itself, although the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cases have an open bottom edge where as the iPhone 5s cases are enclosed with distinct holes for the various physical features.

At least one MacRumors reader has received his black leather case for the iPhone 6 Plus, while others are receiving iPhone 6 cases as well.

A Reddit poster has received one of each size of case, allowing for a comparison between the two sizes. The poster has also shared some photos showing how the two cases fit in the hand.

Apple’s leather cases are priced at $45 for the iPhone 6 and $49 for the iPhone 6 Plus, while silicone cases are also available priced at $35 for the iPhone 6 and $39 for the iPhone 6 Plus. The leather cases are currently shipping with delays of a few business days, while silicone cases are listed as shipping in October.

Our iPhone 6 roundup has been updated with the latest information. Several reliable media sources have reported Apple is planning to hold a major media event on September 9, where it will introduce the long-awaited larger-screened iPhone 6. Read our …

Earlier this week, forensic expert Jonathan Zdziarski attracted attention for his disclosures of what appeared to be “backdoors” in iOS that could allow for covert data collection of users’ information from their devices. While Apple issued a statement…

Apple today announced financial results for the second calendar quarter and third fiscal quarter of 2014. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $37.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $35.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 59 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.47 per share, payable on August 14 to shareholders of record as of August 11. The company currently holds $164.5 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 35.2 million, up from 31.2 million in the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 13.3 million iPads, down from 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.4 million Macs, up from 3.8 million in the year-ago period.

“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”

Apple’s guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 includes expected revenue of $37-40 billion and gross margin between 37 and 38 percent.

Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q3 2014 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Earnings call highlights are available after the jump.

Live Updates – No need to refresh

Chris Blumenberg, a key Apple engineer who has long worked on Maps for iOS and OS X, is leaving the company to take a position with Uber, according to a report by The Information. Blumenberg is the latest of a number of departures from Apple’s Maps team, which has been suffering from internal politics.

Blumenberg is a 14-year veteran of Apple, initially working on Safari for OS X and later iOS. He famously built a version of Maps for iOS in just a few weeks in late 2006 so that Steve Jobs could demo it at the iPhone introduction in January 2007. For the last six years, Blumenberg has managed the Maps Apps & Frameworks group, overseeing a team of at least 40 employees handling Apple’s Maps apps on iOS and OS X. From his LinkedIn profile:

My team is primarily responsible for the Apple Maps app and the MapKit framework. Since 2006, we’ve worked on a number of Google and Apple service-backed features such as local search, directions, street view, next destination and CarPlay. I proudly drove and guided the implementation of vector maps, Flyover and navigation during the shift from Google’s services to Apple’s services in 2012.

Apple’s issues with its Maps team have reportedly slowed the company’s work on that initiative, so much so that there were virtually no mentions of Maps at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote last month. Apple reportedly has a number of iOS Maps improvements in the works, including transit directions and improved points of interest, but it is unclear whether they will be ready in time for the public release of iOS 8 later this year or if they will need to be held for a later update.

Apple has struck a deal for a new 100-acre solar farm near its Maiden, North Carolina data center, the third such farm providing energy for the facility, reports the Hickory Daily Record. According to the report, Apple will be making an initial investment of $55 million in the solar farm, which will generate 17.5 megawatts of power.

Apple plans to have a grading permit submitted for the property by the end of the year, pending acquisition of the land and other terms of the development agreement. If everything else goes according to plan, the farm is projected to be completed within five years of the commencement date.

Apple’s North Carolina data center is the first in a series of significant data center projects the company has undertaken in recent years, with Apple also working on centers in Oregon and Nevada. Under its promise to run its data centers on 100{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} renewable energy, Apple has been investing heavily in energy sources such as solar and biogas while purchasing other types of renewable energy from suppliers.

The North Carolina data center was joined by a 20-megawatt solar farm across the street by late 2012, and Apple has also been developing a second 20-megawatt solar farm a few miles away. The data center is also powered by a biogas fuel cell facility that began as a 4.8-megawatt project but was later expanded to 10 megawatts.

Apple’s exact plans for this third solar farm are unclear, as the five-year planning horizon suggests it may be part of a longer-term vision for the site. The current data center primarily consists of a massive 500,000 square-foot building, but plans presented by Apple during the project’s development depicted a second building of equal size ultimately being constructed next door. Apple’s timeline for any expansion of that magnitude for the data center itself remain unknown.

While we’ve seen plenty of mockups and more recently a few claimed legitimate exterior parts such as rear shells and front panels from the iPhone 6, little in the way of internal parts as surfaced so far. But three new photos surfacing today (via Apple…

Last week, it was reported that Apple has begun producing some of its television ads internally rather than relying on longtime partner TBWA, and now Ad Age has an extensive look at the company’s evolving ad strategy that is seeing much more work being…

WWDC 2014 will kick off on June 2nd with a keynote address from Apple CEO Tim Cook. iOS 8 is the mostly likely focus of the event, but there are a number of other possible topics, including OS X 10.10, Apple TV, MacBook Airs, and the long rumored iWatc…

Apple today seeded build 13C62 of OS X 10.9.2 to developers, marking the seventh beta iteration of 10.9.2. The release comes five days after the sixth OS X 10.9.2 beta, build 13C59, and nearly two months after the first OS X 10.9.2 beta. The update i…

The ongoing dispute over external compliance monitoring of Apple in the e-books antitrust case has taken another turn today, with a federal appeals court granting Apple a brief reprieve from monitoring as it considers the possibility of a longer stay a…

Apple yesterday posted a trio of job listings (via 9to5Mac) for positions located in Mesa, Arizona where the company is building a sapphire manufacturing plant. The facility is to be owned by Apple and run by sapphire producer GT Advanced Technologies, although the new job listings confirm that Apple will have some of its own staff on hand as well.

Furnaces for sapphire production
Sapphire is currently used to protect the cameras on several recent iPhone models, as well as the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s, with the material’s high durability and resistance to scratching making it a key component for those applications. Apple’s commitment to the new sapphire production facility has led to speculation that Apple is preparing to significantly expand its use of sapphire glass, perhaps for the company’s rumored iWatch or to protect iOS device displays.

Among the three Apple job listings for Mesa, one is for a facilities manager to oversee operation of the facility, while the other two positions relate to design and quality engineering with iPhone and iPod products specifically mentioned in the listings.

The iPod/iPhone Manufacturing Design Engineer is accountable for driving the development of key mechanical manufacturing processes across Apple’s worldwide supply base. In this highly visible hands-on role as the expert technical member of the Manufacturing Design Team you will have direct frequent communication and collaboration with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, Manufacturing Design partners and worldwide suppliers.

Apple’s mention of the positions relating to iPhone and iPod manufacturing of course does not indicate whether or not the company may have broader plans for sapphire such as an in iWatch.

Apple’s iPhone fingerprint sensor supplier TSMC is preparing to begin production on sensors for the iPhone 6 in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Digitimes. The report claims that TSMC will be shifting to a larger 12-inch fab …